All US-bound travellers to face new screenings procedures in security shakeup

All incoming flights to the United States will be subject to new security screening procedures before take-off, including both American citizens and foreigners possibly facing security interviews from airline employees, the US government said today.

Both American air carriers and global airlines must comply, affecting all the 2100 flights from around the world entering the US on any given day. The directive is far broader than an earlier Trump administration ban on laptops inside the cabins of some airliners, which only targeted 10 Middle Eastern cities and their airlines.

While five global long-haul carriers said they would begin the new security interviews tomorrow, each offered different descriptions of how the procedure would take place, ranging from a form travellers would be required to fill out to being verbally quizzed by an airline employee. Other carriers insisted their operations remained the same.

"The security measures affect all individuals, international passengers and US citizens, traveling to the United States from a last point of departure international location," US Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.

"These new measures will impact all flights from airports that serve as last points of departure locations to the United States."

The new rules come at the end of a 120-day window for new US safety regulations to be implemented following the lifting of the laptop ban imposed on some Middle Eastern airlines.

They include "heightened screening of personal electronic devices" and stricter security procedures around planes and in airport terminals, Farbstein said. She did not elaborate.

Details of the new rules first became apparent in a statement by Dubai-based Emirates, which operates the world's busiest airport for international travel.

In the statement, Emirates said it would begin carrying out "pre-screening interviews" at its check-in counters for passengers flying out of Dubai and at boarding gates for transit and transfer fliers. It urged those flying through Dubai International Airport to allow extra time for flight check-in and boarding.

"These measures will work in complement with the current additional screening measures conducted at the boarding gate," it said.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. said on its website that it had suspended self-drop baggage services and that passengers heading to the US "will be subject to a short security interview" when checking their luggage. Those without bags would have a similar interview at their gates.

Air France said it would begin the new security interviews tomorrow at Paris Orly Airport and a week later, on November 2, at Charles de Gaulle Airport. It said the extra screening would take the form of a questionnaire handed to all passengers.

EgyptAir said in a statement the new measures include more detailed searches of passengers and their luggage as well as interviews. It said the procedure would extend to unauthorised agricultural or veterinary products.

A statement by Germany's Lufthansa Group said that "in addition to the controls of electronic devices already introduced, travellers to the USA might now also face short interviews at check-in, at document check or (at their) gate."

Lufthansa Group includes Germany's largest carrier, Lufthansa, as well as Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Eurowings and several other airlines.

Royal Jordanian, based in Amman, said it would introduce the new procedures in mid-January. Spokesman Basel Kilani said it would take the form of a questionnaire given to passengers before check-in. He said he didn't know what kind of questions would be asked.

US carriers also will be affected by the new rules. Delta Air Lines said it was telling passengers traveling to the US to arrive at the airport at least three hours before their flight and allow extra time to get through security. United declined to comment, while American did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An Emirates plane taxis to a gate at Dubai International Airport at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP) ()

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 275 airlines, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, Vaughn Jennings of the trade group Airlines for America said that while the new rules include "complex security measures", US officials have been flexible.

"The safety and security of passengers and crew is the highest priority for US airlines and we remain committed to ensuring the highest levels of security are in place throughout the industry," Mr Jennings said.

However, not all were convinced of the new measures' effectiveness.

"The part of the new measures I don't like is that airline personnel are being put back into the security screening process," Metropolitan State University of Denver expert Jeffrey Price said.

This is just the latest decision by President Donald Trump's administration affecting global travel.

In March, US officials introduced the laptop ban in the cabins of some Middle Eastern airlines over concerns ISIL fighters and other extremists could hide bombs inside of them.

The ban was lifted after those airlines began using devices like CT scanners to examine electronics before passengers boarded planes heading to the US. Some also increasingly swab passengers' hands to check for explosive residue.

The laptop ban as well as travel bans affecting predominantly Muslim countries have hurt Middle Eastern airlines. Emirates, the region's biggest, said it slashed 20 percent of its flights to the US in the wake of the restrictions.